Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Exp Parasitol. 2013 Jul;134(3):290-4. doi: 10.1016/j.exppara.2013.03.028. Epub 2013 Apr 4.
Species of Acanthamoeba are frequently isolated from distinct environmental sources such as water, soil, dust and air. They are responsible to cause infections and disease in humans and animals. In addition, Acanthamoeba sp. are considered an important reservoir of bacteria, virus and fungi, which act as "Trojan horses" to protect these microorganisms of harsh environmental conditions. In this study, nine Acanthamoeba isolates from bromeliads phylloplane were identified based on the morphology of cyst and trophozoite forms. The genotype level was accessed by the sequence analysis of Acanthamoeba small-subunit rRNA gene. Genotypic characterization grouped five isolates in the genotype T2/T6, three in the T4 genotype and one in the genotype T16. The results obtained indicate that the genotype T2/T6 is common on phylloplane. To predict the pathogenic potential of the Acanthamoeba isolates, thermo and osmotolerance assays were employed, although all isolates were capable of surviving at temperatures of 37°C, other tests will be conducted in the future to determine the potential pathogenic of the isolates. Altogether, our results revealed the importance of the presence of Acanthamoeba associated with bromeliads in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and the necessity for further studies to determine the environmental distribution and the role of these species.
棘阿米巴属的物种经常从不同的环境来源中分离出来，如水、土壤、灰尘和空气。它们会导致人类和动物感染和疾病。此外，棘阿米巴属被认为是细菌、病毒和真菌的重要宿主，它们充当“特洛伊木马”，保护这些微生物免受恶劣环境条件的影响。在这项研究中，从凤梨科植物叶面上分离出的 9 株棘阿米巴根据囊和滋养体形式的形态进行了鉴定。通过棘阿米巴小亚基 rRNA 基因的序列分析评估基因型水平。基因型特征将 5 个分离株分为 T2/T6 基因型，3 个分离株分为 T4 基因型，1 个分离株分为 T16 基因型。结果表明，叶面上 T2/T6 基因型较为常见。为了预测棘阿米巴分离株的致病潜力，进行了耐热和耐渗透压试验，尽管所有分离株都能够在 37°C 的温度下存活，但未来还将进行其他测试以确定分离株的潜在致病性。总之，我们的结果表明，与巴西南里奥格兰德州的凤梨科植物相关的棘阿米巴的存在非常重要，需要进一步研究来确定这些物种的环境分布和作用。
